Fed-Up, Freaked-Out Americans Find Comfort in Politics Podcasts

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Fed-Up, Freaked-Out Americans Find Comfort in Politics Podcasts

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With five days to go until the election ends, many Americans are ready for someone to tell us it’s all going to be OK. For that, though, you'll need close your eyes to the cable news punditry and irate tweetstorms and surreal viral videos, and open your ears to a handful of reassuring voices who can parse the unending deluge of news. Over the past year, a seemingly neverending parade of scandals and servers and sexism have created a need for trusted voices of reason—and podcasters are upending the form's conventional wisdom in order to meet that need.

One of podcasts' greatest strengths is the personal connection it engenders between voice and listener. In an election cycle like this one, that connection has proven not just valuable, but sanity-maintaining—and in response to their listeners, podcasts are doing everything from answer more listener questions to producing more episodes. “I’ve never had so much feedback on something,” says Jacob Weisberg, editor in chief of the Slate Group and host of Slate's Trumpcast. “Part of the experience of doing a podcast for the first time is a discipline enforced by the listeners.”

Deeper Than Cable, Less Buttoned-Down Than Newspapers

Political podcasts aren’t new. In the 2008 and 2012 elections, early adopters could turn to Slate’s Political Gabfest, where David Plotz, Emily Bazelon, and John Dickerson have gathered once a week to discuss politics since 2005. Yet, the 2016 election is the first in which a majority of Americans have heard of podcasts. And the new medium is especially apt for an unprecedented campaign cycle. “The format of a podcast is particularly well-suited to be in-depth and thoughtful, in a way that you can’t be on a five-minute cable news hit,” says Jon Favreau, host of The Ringer’s Keepin’ It 1600. “We still talk about the horse race, but there’s time on a podcast to get into nuance and subtlety.”

The low overhead of podcasts—Favreau and his co-hosts regularly are joined by guests over the phone, and the three Political Gabfest hosts often convene online from separate states—offers flexibility not found in other media, not to mention frequency. 1600 originally released episodes once a week, which soon moved to twice a week, and even added special episodes after each of the debates. Nor is it the only one feeling the pressure to increase output: Several podcasts, including NPR Politics and FiveThirtyEight Elections, have churned out daily episodes over the past week or two.

For many podcast producers, the space has provided an opportunity for rapid iteration. If you have a microphone and a producer, you can record a show. “I came into work on a Monday, and said, 'let’s just do a show today,'” says Weisberg. He had considered doing a podcast on Trump for months, but didn’t take him seriously and start the show until March.

Eschewing the measured coverage of many political podcasts, Trumpcast is focused on one man, and doesn’t try to suppress its bias. “We didn’t have to play by the equal time, neutrality formula of conventional media,” says Weisberg. “Instead, let’s try to illuminate the phenomenon of Donald Trump.” Each week, Weisberg brings on different guests to dissect the Donald: Washington Post journalist David Fahrenthold about his investigation of the Trump Foundation, historian Nell Irvin Painter about Trump and white supremacy, comedian John Di Domenico on how to impersonate Trump’s voice.

Assuming Trumpcast doesn’t need to become PresidentTrumpcast, Weisberg says he’ll end the show after a few post-election wrap-up episodes. He sees the transience as part of the appeal: a podcast can pop up without a lasting commitment or deep infrastructure. “With a finite quantity, there’s an appetite for it,” he says. “You’re not adding permanently to your media diet.”

A Voice You Can Trust

As with Dan Rather or Walter Cronkite, or even Jon Stewart, much of the appeal of a weekly (or daily) political podcast comes from a familiar host: it’s journalism explained by someone you trust. But a podcast, playing directly into your ears, invites the listener to a more candid discussion. “On cable TV, everyone speaks in sound bites,” says Favreau. “My friends and I have regular conversations about politics—why not have authentic conversations where other people can tune in?”

In 1960, as broadcast on the first televised debate, the affable demeanor of John F. Kennedy triumphed over the substantive answers of Richard Nixon. In 2016, that radio-to-TV transition has been inverted: the podcast format helps high-profile guests appear relaxed and relatable in a way that staged appearances on TV talk shows can't. Listen to Barack Obama on WTF with Marc Maron, secretary of labor Tom Perez on Keepin’ It 1600, Hillary Clinton on her own podcast, With Her. “Sitting in a room with someone, you feel more liberated than in a studio with cameras pointed at you,” says Favreau. And in the last year of accusations and scandals, listeners need a medium that prides itself on authenticity and intimacy.

The same outrage and fear that have made this political season excruciating have created an ideal environment for podcasts. “This is an unbelievably theatrical, dramatic election,” says David Plotz, who has spoken weekly on the Political Gabfest since George W. Bush was in office. “People are genuinely frightened about the future of the country, and that isn’t an especially joyful place to podcast from.” That’s true—but it’s that same fear that renders the intimacy of reassuring, familiar voices especially necessary.

After November 8, some of the voices of reason will continue to stream through our earbuds, including the hosts of Political Gabfest and Keepin’ It 1600. But hopefully, American listeners won’t be in such dire need—even a voice of reason needs a vacation.